Between the Devil and I
by File 13
Summary: A few months after their traitorous old friend disappears again, Edd has something strange to tell his best friends - a deal he made in death, to defeat an enemy no one can find. And when London burns, Edd, Tom, and Matt will have to either save a certain devil... Or destroy him. Can they save an old friend? Or will they fall and fail and die like so many before them have...
1. Resurrect

_**Chapter 1**_

" _Resurrect"_

Edd Gould didn't want to die.

Edd was hardly 25 years old, almost six feet tall, with soft, wavy brown hair and warm brown eyes. His round face wasn't exactly chubby, though it wasn't thin either, and he always gave off an aura of friendliness even when he was in a bad mood.

But right now, that face that so often exuded joy was pale and covered in cuts and bruises, a few of them stitched up, a few of them sticky with clotted blood as strangled breathing escaped his throat. All this was because Edd had been in a car crash almost two days ago; t-boned by another driver in London as he returned from a routine run to Asda for groceries and Coke.

He should have died then. But he didn't. Instead, he sat, pinned in his car by the heavy and crumpled driver's door, hovering somewhere between unconsciousness and lucidity, dying and in pain. His arm had shattered in the impact. Several of his ribs were also broken or bruised - it hurt to breathe. The fumes of a cracked petrol tank made his head spin. Hot and sticky blood dripped sickeningly down his face, from his nose, his forehead, his mouth. The fire department and ambulances had just arrived and had started prying apart his crumpled driver's door when the pain became just too much, and he passed out.

Tom and Matt heard about the crash while watching television. They had been flipping idly through the channels in Tom's apartment, waiting for Edd to return when Tom landed on ZNN. At first it was just a silly story about a convention for different cars. Then an update on the Red Army taking another city in Suffolk or Kent. And finally a news flash about a car crash in London that was a suspected fatality. Tom's jaw nearly fell off when he saw the old red saloon from the helicopter view, crumpled in on one side by a silver Cadillac. Matt had turned to Tom, blue eyes wide.

"You don't suppose...?" he asked.

"Only one way to find out," Tom answered, snatching up his mobile and dialing their friend's number. It rang. And rang. It rang for thirty seconds, then went to voicemail. He tried again. And again.

And again.

The hospital contacted them at around nine o'clock that night. They rushed as quickly as they could to London, where he was at, in Tom's new car. And now they sat in their silent vigil, waiting. One hour. Two hours. Five hours. Ten hours. A day. They left only to scarf down a petrol station sandwich and bag of crisps, or to hunt for a bottle of water, or to use the hospital restrooms. They spoke only to comment on the time, or to answer the questions of the nurses asking how they were, or if they would prefer to leave Edd's side and sleep in one of the guest rooms, or go home. And always, the two young men declined in quiet, hoarse voices.

Louder than both of them was the sound of the electrocardiogram monitor, a constant reminder of every moment Edd's heart did not beat, drowning out any other thought. The doctors and nurses had done all they could. Edd had fallen into a coma. Now all the tired, pale, and anxious faces of Tom and Matt could do was hope. And pray.

And watch.

Every now and then, a lone tear would slide forlornly down Matt's freckled cheek. He hadn't washed his face or ginger hair in over a day because of his concern for his friend, his fear that if he left even for a few minutes, Edd would die. That fear showed in his puffy blue eyes and the dark bags under them, relic of hours of exhaustion as he gazed fixedly at what he could see of Edd's face from under the oxygen mask. The deep purple shadows under Tom's empty eye sockets were worse than usual as he snored gently, his head resting on Edd's leg like it were a pillow. He hadn't been able to fight sleep like Matt, and had fallen victim to exhaustion in his awkward position by the hospital bed. Both young men held one of Edd's hands - Tom the broken left, Matt the right, and both felt the steady pulse of their friend's heart. And the ECG monitor beeped continually, always reminding them where they were.

Until it flatlined.

Edd didn't see the panic that followed his death. All he knew was the dark; the hazy darkness of pain and human memory, until it stopped.

The area surrounding him suddenly lightened, becoming what looked like a meadow. A clear light filtered from what he suspected was the sky, though he had never seen a sky such a soft, pale blue. Nor had he ever seen grasses such a dark, slate green, or flowers such a pure white. He looked down at himself. His hoodie was white, like a new sheet of paper, as were his sneakers, though he still wore his khaki trousers. Something brushed against his back. He turned and was faintly puzzled at the pair of snowy white feathered wings, and by the pair of pearly white gates a little ways beyond them. But he understood quickly enough. He fell to his knees, stomach dropping. The tears came thick and fast, flowing down his face and through his fingers, falling to the ground like a cascade of jewel bright raindrops.

"Well now, we can't have this." Edd's head shot up, watery brown eyes wide as he looked from side to side, then at last behind him.

Two figures were sitting at a small gold card table set in front of the pearly gates that certainly hadn't been there a few seconds before. There were cards in their hands and several more layed out before them. Edd scrambled to his feet, but they didn't look up.

The one to the left of Edd was the more human of the two; a huge man with greying brown hair and beard, and wearing regal, flowing white robes. A golden trumpet and set of keys hung from a flaxen cord around his waist, and a pair of elegant white wings like Edd's sprouted from his back. The second man had skin as red as brick, and heavy, blog coloured robes. Two yellowed teeth poked out from his bottom jaw, past scarred bottom lips, and a set of sturdy ram's horns gets jutted from his forehead. Goat legs tapped impatiently from under the table, and a long, horned trail flicked here and there.

"Look Lou, it's not my fault you're bad at this game, so just cut your losses and go fish," said the man in white.

"Eh, excuse me?" Edd said tentatively, taking a step forward. The two men turned back to him, noticing him at last. They both smiled, though the Devil's was more of a grimace.

"Ah, the young man of the moment!" cried the angel, wings flapping and flinging his arms open wide as he stood up from his chair. His cards went flying in all directions, one of them smacking the Devil in the face do he flinched, another fluttering down like an odd white and red butterfly to Edd's feet. "So nice of you to join us!"

"Er, who are you?"

The angel man gestured to a red and white sticker on his chest, like the ones you saw at a convention or get together, on which was written a name in bold black letters. "I am Saint Peter," he answered grandly, bowing and straightening back up again, pointing at Edd now. "And you are Edward Gould. I'm sure you're wondering why you are here."

"Aren't I... Aren't I dead?" Saint Peter scratched his chin a moment, watching Edd curiously.

"Well... Yes, I suppose one could say that you are dead. However, it's entirely possible one could also say that you have simply reached a crossroads."

"What?"

"Oh, stop trying to confuse the boy, Pete," interrupted Lucifer, standing up himself and sauntering over. He looked right at Edd who noticed, like he had years ago, that he had no irises. "Look m'boy, you're dead right now. Dead as a doornail, expired like old milk, gone your way to join a choir on cloud nine. But the Big Man and I need a favor done, and we think you're the one that can pull it off."

"I don't get it," Edd said, holding his hands up in question. "You're saying that I'm dead? But I'm not?"

"We're saying that you've not yet entered through the Gates of Heaven," answered Peter calmly. "I have a mission, so to say, from the Father above, to meet you at the gates and offer you your life back if you accept his mission."

"Basically-"

"Yes, _thank you_ , Lou!"

"What? I'm just telling him how things are," shrugged Lucifer, picking at something nonchalantly between his yellowed teeth. Saint Peter rolled his eyes in exasperation.

Edd's mind swam with questions he couldn't form into words. Honestly, if he were having this hard a time wrapping his head around the idea that he could come back to life, he would have exploded with information on how the universe worked.

"Yes, well, moving on now. What do you say, Edd m'boy?" Edd's head shot up, brown eyes wide.

"But I still don't understand what you want," he said, brows knitted together in intense confusion.

"You watch the news, right boy?" asked the Devil. Edd nodded slowly. "Then you'll know that a whole lot of people are dying right now because of a certain group of vigilantes who go by the name of the Red Army."

"There's been an influx of the dead to both Heaven and Hell alike," said Saint Peter patting the Devil on the shoulder. Clouds of steam rose from the places where his hand fell. "And frankly, Heaven can't handle it right now; reconstruction has been way too crazy. And both the Father, Lou here, and I know that you and your friends have a close connection with one of the most pivotal figures in the Red Army."

"In not sure what you're on about," said Edd nervously.

"Of yes you do," laughed Lucifer, jabbing Edd in the chest with a hot finger, forcing him a step back, new wings flapping a little in alarm. "You know him all too well, boy. You're not likely to forget young men you live with and trust before they leave you for years and come back to stab you in the back. You know exactly who we're talking about."

Edd's heart sank. He looked down and whispered one word. "Tord..."

Tord Larsson. They had known each other since kindergarten, grown up together, gone through so much. A couple zombie apocalypses, Tom's hatred for Christmas, and so much more before he moved away. But when he returned, nearly three months ago, he was different. A liar, a murderer, a leader. And he had tried to destroy everything he and his friends had worked so hard to build before Tom had struck down his giant robot. So... He had lived after all.

"So, Edd, will you accept?"

Edd looked up at the two men incredulously. "Is this a joke?"

Saint Peter and Lucifer both looked puzzled and were about to speak when Edd continued. "Of course I want to go back!"

Lucifer started to laugh - a loud guffaw that deteriorated into the hacking coughs of an old smoker. Saint Peter looked mildly annoyed, thumbing his gold trumpet. "Well, he accepted! Cough up, Pete! I told you the boy would take life over immortality, didn't I?"

Saint Peter sighed, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Yes yes, I'll pay you later, now go away, Lou." Saint Peter reached into his robes, withdrawing something that looked like a lily petal. He gazed long and hard at Edd, who squirmed a little with discomfort under the piercing blue stare. All trace of joking was gone from his face, leaving it serious and regal looking, like it had been carved from stone. Lucifer sobered up as well, watching the guardian of the pearly white gates in the distance with what could almost be described as reverence, if the Devil could be considered reverent.

"Listen to me, angel. It is not often I grant a soul a second chance at life. But The Father Above has granted me permission to return you to mortality if you swear to lead a meaningful life and try to the best of your abilities to defeat the Red Army. Be warned, angel, that both the Devil Lucifer and I know when beings lie to us, and that you will be sent with him to Hell if you do so. Do you accept these terms, Edward Gould?"

"Yes," answered Edd firmly, nodding once, and he meant it, with all his heart. Saint Peter and the Devil exchanged a smile.

"Your fate has been sealed. As you are on an errand from the Holy One Above, I bestow upon you gifts. Firstly, you will suffer no repercussions from your death. And secondly, when the time comes, I hadn't you the power of the Angels of Heaven on your side."

"And by my own _unholy_ power, I grant you a gift of my own: the power of Death. Be wary though, Angel. Using this power against another man _may_ cause _your_ death as well as his. Use it wisely." Satan glared at Edd a moment more, then burst into flames. Edd speed in surprise and jumped back. When the heat finally faded, he chanced a glance. Lucifer had gone. Saint Peter sighed again.

"He always did have a flair for the dramatic. However, he'd him well, Edd. The Devil may lie for a living, but his lies have a ring of truth to them."

"What do you mean?"

"The universe is a realm of penance. Everything has a price. You've heard the term 'an eye for an eye'. If you use the power bestowed to you by Lucifer, your chances of dying aren't a maybe. They are a certainty. Be careful where you tread." Saint Peter shook his head sorrowfully, and beckoned for Edd to come closer. He complied after a moment's hesitation. The huge man lifted the lily petal higher and said, "Edward Gould, by the holy power vested in me, I return you to mortality on a mission from God the Father and the Devil Lucifer."

He lowered the flower petal so it touched Edd right between the eyes, light as air and cool as water.

And everything faded to black.

 **A/N Muh hahah! Enjoy that? I hope it was a feels trip :) I enjoyed writing it waaaay too much. Heeheheh. So, this is chapter one. Yep. IDK what the story is going to be called FOR SURE YET, and also, if any of you ARE BRITS, tell me if there is any slang a lot of people use a lot, or any slang I have in here that you DON'T USE, tell me please. All I have to go off are Harry Potter and Narnia audiobooks, old Top Gear episodes, and the odd youtube video :'D So plz halp.**

 **Soo... Enjoy! Love yourselves, COMMENT (plz), check out my other works, and enjoy life!**

 **~File_13**

 **P/A/N Just a few minor changes. I changed a bit in the plot, sooo... Had to change a couple things. Also, America, right side of the road. Everywhere else, LEFT side of the road -v-' I thought about that the whole time writing this and I STILL messed up XD**

 **~File_13**


	2. You're Never Going To Believe Me

_**Chapter 2**_

" _You're Never Going To Believe Me"_

There was a high-pitched something in his ear. His groggy mind registered that it sounded familiar, like it had happened to him before. He didn't want to open his eyes, but it wasn't like he had a choice, he had to. The high pitched noise had become clearer than before, as had a dull drone of soft voices.

"...Lucky he's even…"

"...Will he…?"

"...Repercussions…"

He let out a quiet moan. His head was hurting even from the quiet sounds of chatting. His left arm felt encased in something soft. There was a sharp intake of breath somewhere above him, and something grabbed his hands, squeezing them tightly - almost painfully. He blinked.

Two very familiar faces swimmed above him, eyes filling with tears and smiles wide. Edd felt his brow furrow a little with confusion. "Did I say something funny…?"

The two faces started laughing, nervous chuckling at first, but that turned into real laughs within a matter of seconds as they collapsed on top of him, crushing him in a hug. He yelped a little bit, and there was a sudden movement behind them. Edd noticed for the first time the doctor, clad in white and mint green scrubs. His own bushy blonde eyebrows were creased in disapproval as he tapped impatiently on his clipboard with a blue pen.

"We thought you were dead!" blurted out Matt, hugging Edd even tighter and making him whimper in pain. He loosened his grip slightly. Tom was beyond words, his shoulders shaking and face buried in the crook of Edd's neck, which creeped the latter out slightly, but he cut his friend some slack. It seemed like a lot had gone on in the time since…

What happened? Why was he here? His mind was suddenly burning with questions, from where the nearest Coke machine was,to where they were, why Tom smelled like stale cheese, why Matt was petting his head, why everything hurt, what was he doing before he got here, and what, _what_ had happened?

"Alright boys, I'm going to need you to break it up right now," said the doctor, finally breaking his silence. Matt and Tom slowly and unwillingly untangled themselves from Edd, not wanting to let go so quickly. It was only now that Edd noticed how awful both of them looked. The circles under their eyes were dark, almost to the point Edd thought they had been in fistfights. Tom wiped his eyes with his sleeves, drying tears as Matt continued to blubber and sob. Edd cocked his head in question and immediately regretted it. Spikes of pain shot through his skull, making him wince and return to his original position very, very slowly.

"Mr. Gould, I am Doctor Names," started the blonde man. Edd giggled feebly.

"So people call you names, huh?" This weak attempt at humor earned a chuckle from Tom. Names was less impressed.

"Mr. Gould, we here at Hearth Home Hospital want you to know that you're in the best hands you could possibly be in -"

"I thought this was a bed! It's not a pair of hands, surely?"

Doctor Names glared at Edd and his laughing friends, miffed. "If you need further assistance, your _friends_ know where the desk is. Take it easy." The angry man left, shutting the door with a heavy thud behind him. The three men continued to laugh until, with a short sigh, each of them finished.

"So, honestly, what happened?"

Tom and Matt's grins slid off their faces like the water off a duck's back. They looked at one another a moment, then Matt turned away. Edd obviously wasn't going to get an answer out of him any time soon. "You'll probably want to rest for a little while to hear what happened… Or at least wait for a Coke. It's… Quite a doozy," Tom said apologetically.

"No, I want to know. I want to know if I'm right," Edd said firmly, shifting restlessly and rubbing the cast that encased his right arm. The ginger and the drunk looked at him in mild surprise. Their friend's face was set, ready to know what had transpired.

"Well…" Tom pulled out his phone, squinting a little at the screen before typing in something. It took about 30 seconds before he accessed a video and handed it to Edd, who took it with both hands. It was a news story about a bad crash in Greater London. He felt his fingers start to tingle and go numb as he watched. That little red saloon that was crumpled in on the driver's side looked _awful_ familiar.

"You got hit," said Tom blandly, looking at Edd's knee. Or at least, Edd thought he was looking at his knee, but he could never be totally sure with Tom, thanks to the fact that he literally had no eyes. "We… We saw it on the news, and got to the hospital as fast as we could, but you were… You were already under."

"Under what? Did I… Die in the crash?"

"No, you went into a coma. Two days. Then you just went into cardiac arrest about a day ago. They had to restart your heart and everything."

"It was awful!" Matt cried shuddering from his toes to the ends of his vibrant ginger hair. "Everyone thought you really weren't going to make it. Do you know how scary it was just sitting outside the room doing _nothing_?"

"We never left your side up until that point. It was pretty bad."

Tom's last words touched Edd's heart in a way like nothing else. It was an innocent, sweet, selfless gesture from two people that we otherwise nothing but selfish and idiotic. But no matter how rude they were to one another, no matter how many times they butt heads or fought or insulted one another, they always had each other's backs. And these two - the cold-hearted drunk and the vain ginger - had not left his side, even though he hadn't known they were ever there, and they hadn't known whether he would ever wake up. It left him speechless.

"Wow... I thought surely you guys would be worried about… I dunno, er, watching Professor Why or something! And Matt, his hair!"

Matt grinned a little sheepishly. "Don't think it didn't bother me mate, but we were so worried!"

"Also, Professor Why sucks, Edd, why would we watched rubbish like that?" The three laughed again. Edd stopped after a moment, wincing again and putting a hand on his ribcage. He must have bruised something. Matt and Tom both stopped chuckling soon after him, and their expressions became solemn once more.

"We really thought we were going to lose you though, Edd."

"Funnily enough, I thought so too." Matt looked puzzled, his sapphire eyes bright as he gazed at Edd.

"What do you mean, Edd?"

"I mean I saw some crazy stuff when I died."

Tom gave an amused bark of laughter. "What, you mean you saw the pearly gates of Heaven? Or maybe you made a deal with the devil for your soul."

"Actually… You're never going to believe me, but it was kind of both…"

Tom stopped laughing, incredulity suddenly written all over his tired and pale face. "You're not being serious, are you?"

"Dead."

Matt and Tom gaped at their friend before Matt rubbed his eyes. "I'm too tired to deal with this. You're saying that you died, and then you made a deal with Lucifer to come back to life?"

"Well, sort of. What happened was-"

"And that's why you're alive?"

"Are you going to let me explain or not?" Matt looked sheepish at Edd's glare. Edd sighed and closed his eyes. His head and neck were starting to hurt, but he took a deep breath and started to explain. Matt looked in awe at him, but Tom looked more skeptical than anything, however.

"So, what exactly was this deal that you made with Saint Peter and Lucifer?" he asked, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair. Edd swallowed hard. Talking about Tord was a surefire way to make Tom furious - there was no way in high heaven that he could ever forgive the devil-horned megalomaniac, and Edd understood exactly why.

"Because… People are dying so much, because of… _Him_. The Rebellion. And they wanted me to… To stop it."

"Well, you can't."

Edd was momentarily offended. "Why not?"

"You're in a hospital bed for one thing," Tom said sarcastically, leaning back forward in his chair. "Second, there's no way you're going to create a group or anything to fight _him_ back. It's not like you can just walk into Parliament and say 'hey, I want to form my own group of fighters to resist the Red Army because I died and went to Heaven, then came back because I made a deal with God and Satan!'"

As much as he hated to admit it, Tom certainly had a point. "You're such a spoil sport, aren't you?" asked Matt. Tom looked affronted, placing a hand on his chest.

"Who, me?" he asked innocently. "No, I'm just realistic."

The group fell into heavy silence. Edd felt terrible, and not just because of his injuries. He was scared, he was upset. He had just been in a near fatal car crash, been in a coma, had a heart attack, died, and come back to life in what sounded to be about 72 hours. And now he had no idea how he was supposed to keep his promise - his oath - to the two most powerful beings in existence. His newly resuscitated heart thumped a little harder in his chest. This wasn't something he wanted to deal with right now, and attempted to stifle a yawn. Matt noticed

"Edd, you ought to be sleeping," he said, awkwardly pulling the bedclothes up to Edd's chin.

"Where are you and Tom going?"

"We can stay in one of the hospital guest rooms. Well, two of them, I mean. I think it's okay for us to go now that we know you're stable, right?"

Tom looked up dazedly. He looked dead on his feet. Or more like his chair. But he nodded tiredly and stood up, patting Edd firmly on the shoulder a couple of times. "Get some sleep," he suggested with a yawn of his own.

Edd hummed in agreement. "You too, guys. Don't worry about me." Much. The two other young men smiled at him before turning and leaving the room, shutting off the brightest of the hospital room lights. There was a window in the room, but any sunlight was blocked by the heavy curtains. The darkness of the room was broken only by the frantic, though dim yellow light of a lamp on a faraway table. He closed his eyes and shifted again in his hospital bed.

He was asleep a few moments later.

 **A/N Aww, sleepy childe. Let him rest...**

 **He's going to need it.**

 **Things get pretty crazy in chapter 3, which is still being written. I think I've figured out how to get these three morons in the position I want them in *evile grin* JK I love these morons, it kind of hurts when I hurt them. BUT I AM NOT A NICE PERSON, SO THEY WILL SUFFER FOR THE TIME BEING :( Sorry guys. You'll have happy times.**

 **So, COMMENT plz, tell me what Brits use for slang or any other little nuances I should be aware of. My parents have been to England, and I watch and listen to a lot of stuff from over there, so I know quite a bit, but not enough to pass as British, which I'm not coz I'm 'MURCAN and I LOVE IT XD**

 **Whatever, just comment and enjoy life**

 **~File_13**

 **Again, minor changes. Nothing big. Bye!**

 **~File_13**


	3. London Is Burning

_**Chapter 3**_

" _London Is Burning"_

Edd left the hospital about a week after waking up, and what a week it was. Doctor Names had told Edd that he technically could have left a couple of days after he had woken up, but since he had had no record of any heart failure in his past or in his family's history, they had wanted to keep him longer to "watch out for any complications or signs of another one", and so that he could recuperate. Edd had only been in a coma for two days, but that was two days for him to lose several pounds. Not that he was complaining; he had always been a bit heavy, but it wasn't his fault that cola tasted so good!

So, he had waited patiently to be discharged from Hearth Home Hospital for a week, taking the odd medical test here and there, trading bad jokes with hospital nurses, watching hours of online videos, doodling on scraps of paper. Occasionally, he was allowed to wander out of his room and chat peacefully with his fellow inmates, or with the nice ladies behind the desks who were otherwise not doing much more than playing Solitaire and Minesweeper. There was a particularly unpleasant experience where one of them had described to him in grisly detail a very recent patient that had arrived covered in blood, and then explained that it had been him. But Edd didn't let being trapped inside of the sterile whiteness of the hospital bother him. He wasn't even going to let the increasingly nervous energy of everyone in London due to the frequent news reports of the Red Army faze him. But he wasn't going to deny that finally being able to leave the place wasn't a cause for celebration.

Tom and Matt had brought him a new change of clothes they day they finally came to pick him up, which included the comfort of one of his beloved green hoodies, and pair of khaki trousers and sneakers. The nice women behind the desk had told him they would be sad to see him go as he left, and wished him luck. His throat had closed up at that, remembering his deal with those ancient deities. However, he smiled widely and accepted their comment with a word of thanks, uncomfortably aware of both Matt and Tom's hands on his back as they guided him around, as though they were waiting for him to keel over any moment and pass out. He suspected they didn't know that he had been walking around quite a bit during his time here, despite the fact that they had visited him almost every day.

He hesitated before finally getting into Tom's car - their old red saloon had been totalled in the crash - but he forced himself in. It was a rare thing, a serious car crash. Nothing to be afraid of. Until it happened. Which it wouldn't.

Their first stop was a petrol station, where Tom filled up the tank of the sleek blue car that he had been saving up for years to get. Then they went to an American hamburger restaurant that all of them enjoyed once in awhile. Edd asked for streaky bacon on his, which was an odd request, though not unheard of to the tense looking teenage cashier. He has a certain fondness for streaky bacon, but Americans certainly were odd people. That fact was only further affirmed by the skinny blonde couple wearing tie-dye t-shirts Edd watched come. They stood in line to order, talking in loud voices heavily accented by some southern town in the United States.

Edd and his companions ate their food inside the little restaurant, packed with other lunch-goers, sitting in a booth by the big front windows and chatting about nothing in particular. Edd, who sat on the inside of the booth next top Matt, leaned against the warm window, content and full as he watched Tom steal a few of the ginger's chips, dunking them in the funny American tomato sauce before shoving them in his mouth. He swallowed and grinned as Matt exclaimed in annoyance. Edd smiled himself. He had missed this.

'Oh, I've missed this.'

The smile slipped off his face at the memory, and he felt suddenly cold.

"So, how long do you think you're going to need to wear that cast?" Matt asked, returning Edd to reality.

"Huh? Oh," Edd shrugged noncommittally, rubbing the rough, neon green fiberglass armor with his free hand. "I'm not exactly sure, but I think Names said something like five weeks. Good thing too. It's driving me mad."

"Edd, you okay?" Edd looked over to Tom, who was sitting across from him. His empty eyes were narrowed with questioning concern. "You look sick."

"What? Oh no, I'm just... Thinking."

Tom looked unconvinced, but dropped the subject. They were too content and pleased with the fact that Edd was finally out of the hospital to be worried. It surely wasn't his business to go and ruin that happy mood. So they leaned back in their seats a moment longer before standing and stretching, ready to leave. Edd watched in mild fascination as the American couple dropped a crisp ten pound note on their table, saying something that sounded oddly like "tip".

He had no clue what the Tip had to do with anything. You didn't recycle money at the Tip. Only when the three friends were getting into Tom's car again did he remember that Americans often left money behind for waiters, and they called it a tip. He chuckled to himself as the set belt clicked satisfyingly in its port. Americans were strange.

The radio had been on when they had parked. Twelve seconds of a silly pop song, just enough time for them to pull out of the car park, and it went static.

"What happened?" Matt questioned relaxedly.

Tom fiddled with the radio knob, mildly annoyed as he searched for another station. "Signal cut out. They must be having issues at the station or something."

He continued to fiddle absently with the radio as he turned onto the main road. He had to pause though, because traffic suddenly appeared around them. It didn't make any sense, though. Why were there so many cars in what didn't seem like a very crowded part of London?

Tom had landed on a station that was working, but instead of the normal talk show hosts, there was a man's nasally voice. Edd's blood ran cold as he listened.

"-Red Army is in London. All civilians please stay calm and follow police instruction. Calling for a full evacuation of London. Stay calm and follow police orders, leaving the city to the East and South."

"What is that?" Matt was pointing wide-eyed at a plume of thick, black smoke to left of them in the distance, which was to the north. Small black specks zoomed in and out of view, through puffy and gentle white clouds and the heavy smoke. As Edd watched one of them suddenly spiralled out of control and crashed into a huge reflective office building with an explosion of yellow fire. His stomach dropped.

"Holy…" Tom didn't finish his statement. All three pairs of eyes were wide. This was real. The smoke coming from the north, which was now right in front of them, was only growing. Here and there one could see a plane get shot down, though none of them could tell whether it was a plane from the Red Army or the RAF, or maybe there would be a plume of smoke and dust that rose high into the air at hundreds of kilometers an hour.

"Oh my gosh… This is… It's… We…" Edd couldn't seem to form words. His throat felt too tight for him to speak.

"We're going to die, aren't we?" Matt asked weakly as Tom turned south, following the steady flow of cars leaving the city. Edd twisted in his seat to continue watching the now black sky behind them through the back window. It was like a storm front. A deadly storm front.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Tom's teeth were clenched as he squeezed between two cars. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he wrenched it from side to side, weaving between other people who were running from the terrifying scene behind them.

Matt and Edd screamed. Two jets tore through the sky just above them, strafing a line of cars to the left of them. Several other vehicles weaved in alarm, their drivers obviously frightened. The cars that were hit crashed into one another, into the road barrier. Edd gasped in horror as he looked at a few of the windscreens suddenly spattered with blood. One car was suddenly engulfed in flames.

Matt's screams turned into frenzied sobs of laughter, tears pooling in his eyes. Tom jerked the wheel to the right as one of the cars that had been shot swerved towards them, clipping their back end. He struggled to regain control, but eventually managed to right their path, with a lot of swearing mixed into the process. Edd also had tears running down his face as he watched the occupants of a small gold salon jumped out their car doors, falling over themselves and clutching at one another only to be hit by another vehicle. He choked out a sob, clutching Matt's seat in front of him. All those people...

The jets' screams faded for a moment before growing louder again. Matt's sobs redoubled. Surely now they were going to die. They heard the ricochet of bullets, but they were all behind them.

"I'm going to die, I'm going to die!" Matt grasped Edd's hand for comfort, though Edd knew he wasn't able to offer any. He bumped up against Tom, who turned to him and started to yell something, leaving Edd the only one still watching the road.

"TOM, WATCH OUT!" Edd shouted, pointing. Tom whipped forward once again and slammed on the brakes. There was a woman standing in front of them, waving her arms wildly in front of her and standing over another woman. She sprinted up to Tom's stopped car, her hands folded in an unheard plea for help. It looked like she and her friend's car had been hit by bullets. Tom rolled down the window to hear her.

"-Please, help me! Louise, she's hurt! Please don't leave us!" The woman was screaming hysterically. Tom scowled.

"Get in the back," he barked.

"But Louise-"

"I'll take care of her, just get in!" He opened the door and leapt out while the woman pulled on the door handle to get in the back. After a split second's hesitation, Edd threw open his own door and followed Tom. He couldn't do much with his broken arm, but he tried his best to help his friend guide the wounded woman, both of her arms draped across their shoulders as they stumbled back to Tom's car. Her right leg was covered in blood. There was the scream of jets once again, the terrifying sound of deadly lead bouncing off the pavement, and the first woman fell to her knees in terror.

But none of the bullets hit them.

First in was Edd, then the wounded woman, who was gasping in pain, then her friend, then Tom, who immediately floored the accelerator, closing the gap between them and the cars in front of them.

On and on, for an hour that felt like an eternity, they were pursued by those jets until finally… They stopped. Gone. Left behind with the rubble they had just escaped.

It was unnerving. They drove alongside those survivors who had escaped London all the way through to the countryside. There weren't that many. So many had been left behind, full of bullet holes, windows shattered and dripping with cold blood. So many who didn't make it, who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They out of all of them had made it. Matt, Edd, and the first woman, who said her name was Katy, had managed to stem the flow of blood from the woman Louise with Matt's overcoat, though she still was crying and gasping in pain, her friend beside her attempting to comfort her.

Edd turned around and watched the scene outside the back window, knuckles white as he clutched his seat belt. Behind them, to the North, in the fiery orange sunset dyed red as blood, London burned.

* * *

 **A/N Pretty graphic huh? Betcha ya weren't really expecting that. I hope. I was sitting in my world history class one day when I was first coming up with ideas for an Eddsworld fanfiction. In my class, one of the first things we do every day is to watch CNN 10 online. And, as per frickin usual, there was a story about ISIS. "Huh. Okay." I go home, watch a bit of (a butt load of, don't lie to yourself man) Youtube, mainly Eddsworld, and surfing the Interwebz. Something about ISIS popped up once again. "Hmm... All of these middle eastern countries are being terrorized by a band of Islamic Extremists. It totally is possible to cause havoc and destruction in a country." Thus, warfare - something that both fascinates and terrifies me - became the basis of the story, coupled along with an interesting flipnote I saw about a falling angel.**

 **And... I don't know anything about wa *knock on wood*. I'm lucky enough to live in a place where I don't have to deal with much more than heat-stroke and school. But I've seen some pretty frightening stuff, some pretty sad stories, read some pretty heart and gut wrenching crap. And it scares me. It's ridiculous. It makes me sad. And it is reality. I wanted to capture the horror of that reality in my writing. So this came out.**

 **HAHAH stay happy though, things will get better soon. Just do your part to help the world be a better place. That's all that we can do.**

 **~File_13**


	4. I Don't Want This

_**Chapter 4**_

 _"I Don't Want This"_

It wasn't home. But it was the best they could do for the time being. Fungalburough was a tiny town in Wiltshire. And by tiny, it only had a single McDonalds and a small family owned green grocer's. None of the five occupants of Tom's car were going to complain. Each was exhausted, terrified, and hungry. Matt was the only occupant who was not also covered in dust and blood. Throughout the frenzied drive into the countryside, Edd had had time to study the two women, been able to talk with them. It was oddly calming to all occupants, and slowed the frantic heart rates of all concerned.

Katy, a pretty blonde with bright blue eyes, had been in London with her friend Louise to visit their grandparents, who resided in the same old-folks home when they were lucky enough to hear the call go out on the radios. The dozen or so geriatrics had been loaded into a van and sent off, then the two girls set off. When the strafing had started, they were among the first to be hit, and one of the bullets had struck Louise across the leg.

"Why were you three in London?" Katy asked, trying to keep a somewhat normal conversation going, gripping Louise's hand.

"Edd was in the hospital. He just got discharged," Tom answered, watching the road with a feverish expression.

"Why was he in the hospital?" asked Louise.

"Car crash. Coma. Cardiac arrest."

"Oh, er… I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Edd tried to smile weakly, though it didn't feel quite right at the time.

Now they stood in front of the small bed and breakfast. The faded hand-painted sign that hung above the door said "Barf's Bed and Breakfast", coupled alongside a lovely vase of wildflowers, swayed gently in the breeze that passed down the dark streets, lit only by the occasional Victorian lantern and the yellow warmth of the pubs along the street. Two rooms were very expensive with their dwindling money. Most of theirs had been spent on petrol and burgers, and Katy had only a credit card. But when they explained their situation, the kind old woman shook her husband's shoulder, screamed their story into his ear again, and let them have the rooms for half price.

Edd collapsed on top of the first bed he came to in the larger of the two rooms the moment Matt and Tom left to search for some food and use the toilet.. Both had two beds, a rolling heater in a musty corner, and a large window that opened up to a dark back garden. He was absolutely exhausted. His head hurt. His bones hurt. His chest hurt. His heart hurt. He wanted to be sick. He wanted to just fall asleep and wake back up in the hospital, because then none of this would have happened. It would have all just been a bad dream. It had to have been a bad dream…

"Hey, Edd…?" Edd lifted his head a couple inches off the bedclothes to see Louise and Katy standing tentatively in the doorway, the former supporting the latter.

He struggled to push himself up into a sitting position, hampered slightly by his broken arm before giving a sad, tired grimace of a smile. "Yeah?"

"We just… We wanted to thank you, Edd." Genuinely surprised, he raised an eyebrow, prompting Katy to stammer, "I mean, you and Tom and Matt didn't have to stop for us! You could have kept going and left us and gotten out of… There far faster than you did. And we're just… We're so grateful that you did. Just… Thank you."

Edd genuinely smiled, a faint one, but a real one nonetheless in his bemusement. "Well, I guess we couldn't just leave you guys to die, surely?"

Louise snorted. "Yeah, _that'd_ be a tragedy to lose me, right?" It was one of the few times she had spoken so far. Edd noticed the slight buck-toothed overbite and the slight, almost unnoticeable lisp.

"Yes it would!" Katy cried, looking sharply at her red-headed friend and taking her arm. "Don't you dare say that." Louise scoffed before Katy turned back to Edd, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. Thanks again, Edd."

The two girls closed the door, leaving and arguing in soft voices, leaving Edd lonelier than he was before. He truly was drained of all energy. He collapsed back onto the musty smelling pillows with a soft moan.

He was asleep within the next few minutes.

But dreams were fickle fiends. And dreams don't allow one refuge from reality.

" _Do you really think he can do this?"_

" _He has to. He signed that contract when he gave his word."_

" _But then you go meddling with fate, stopping those bullets from hitting him and his friends."_

" _His time is not yet come, Lou. I couldn't just sit back now that he's agreed."_

"Edd?"

Edd awoke with a start. Matt was leaning over him, his strained and tired face masked by shadows, his green overcoat folded over his crooked arm. He glanced past the ginger at the glowing red light that was the alarm clock, which read it was just past midnight. He let his head fall heavily back again onto the pillows.

"Whad issit?" he slurred sleepily, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. "Whas up?"

"We're back. Thought you'd might like some food. Tom's bringing some to Katy and Louise right now."

"What do you have?"

"A couple pasties. Some sandwiches. Case of Coke. Nothing amazing." Something told Edd that Matt was in just as much shock as himself, Tom, and the girls. It was most likely the fact that he didn't add some comment about he himself being amazing. That, and the occasional tremble of the freckled ginger's lower lip.

"No. I'm not hungry." This was not a lie. Edd's stomach heaved and twisted at the thought of eating anything. "Though, I certainly won't say no to a Coke."

He sat up with a stifled yawn as Matt rummaged through the crinckling plastic grocery bag, emerging with a red can, a small sandwich, and a miserable expression. He handed the Coke to a puzzled Edd without looking at him, crawled on the foot of his bed, and started to unenthusiastically unwrap his sandwich.

"Are you okay?" Edd asked, shifting so that he was closer to his friend and readying himself to perform the reassuringly familiar motion of cracking open his Coke. Matt shrugged, looking away. "What's wrong, Matt?" Edd attempted again, watching the ginger closely. He mumbled something incoherent. "What?"

"I wish... _I could be more like you guys..._ "

Edd felt his jaw drop in shock. Matt, who loved his own reflection more than breathing, wishing he was more like Tom and himself? It was unheard of. Impossible. Matt continued, looking at his sandwich with tears in his eyes.

"I was just... So _scared_. This wasn't like anything we've ever seen before. And you and Tom... You didn't even think twice before running out of the car and getting Louise. You could have died. And I just sat there... Useless..."

Tears were now flowing freely down Matt's freckled face as the uneaten sandwich fell to the floor, and he wrapped his arms around his chest, choking back sobs. Momentarily lost for words, Edd draped his unbroken arm across his friend's shoulders, silent for a moment before he found something to say.

"Matt, let me tell you something; I was dead terrified. I didn't want to leave the car, to be honest, and I almost didn't."

"But you _did_."

"You said it yourself, it wasn't anything like we've ever seen before."

"I'm such a coward. If it weren't for you and Tom, those girls Katy and Louise would have been dead. I would have as good as killed them."

"Matt, what on earth had gotten into you?" Edd asked, removing his arm to grip his friend's shoulder and looking at him in mild shock. "Why are you acting like this?"

"I don't know!" Matt wailed suddenly, throwing his head back before letting it fall back into his hands. "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know! I don't know what's going on with me and I don't want it! My gosh Edd, I don't want it, I don't know what's happening to me, and I don't want this! I just don't know anymore!"

There was the soft thudding of footsteps, and the door was flung open by a frightened and exhausted looking Tom, followed closely by Katy and the crippled Louise. "What's wrong? What just happened?"

But Edd was too busy trying to quiet his wailing friend to answer, wrapping his arms around him as best he could with the cast, fighting a wail of misery of his own trying to escape his throat.

Tom walked forward cautiously, as though afraid Matt were simply baiting him, luring him in for an attack. He reached a hand out, hesitated, and squeezed Matt's shoulder before letting quickly go. Edd followed suit, allowing his hand to rest on his friend's arm a moment longer. Matt choked out one last sob and opened puffy red eyes, sniffing and grimacing with embarrassment and more unshed tears.

"I'm sorry guys," he said quietly, wiping his eyes with his jacket sleeve. "Could I... Have some alone time?"

"Sure," Edd nodded, immediately moving of the bed. He touched Tom's elbow as he passed, both of them watching as Matt curled his knees up to his chest, back to them. Katy hesitated by the door as the two young men passed, then walked inside.

Edd watched as the lay a hesitant hand on Matt's hair, stroking it for a moment and murmuring only Matt could hear, then turned and followed everyone out of the room

The door clicked quietly behind them.

* * *

 **A/N Welp, this was going to be longer, but then... Hrm, IDK. kinda crap, huh? Pretty mainstream fanfic, with all the crying and the hugging and all, buuuut, welp, it happened :T -_-'**

 **So... Hopefully things will pick up speed again next chapter. I got some plans, and so does Edd as a matter of fact. And in case it wasn't clear, there was no way Edd and his gang could have survived escaping London. I was trying to get the point that was protecting him from afar. IDK, I thought it was cool.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys like it! I'll be working on chapter 5 now, as well as "Dear Angel, Dear Demon" and "Barriers and Broken Mirrors" (I AM TAKING REQUESTS FOR THE LATTER IF YOU WANT SOME SILLY OTP ONE SHOTS DONE, but I have 4 outlined ships that I am doing only). keep an eye out for those, kk? Also, comment please! Love yourselves andHAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!**

 **~File 13**

 ***Edit* OH I just forgot to mention; Katy and Louise are based off of real people! Louise is calweir (go see her Deviantart, she deserves more love), and was one of Edd Gould's friends in real life. Katy is Katy Pegg Hargreaves, Matt Hargreaves' wife in real life. So... Yeah, these aren't really OCs, kinda not really. _*cough*MattxKatyShipWarningInTheStorySoBeware*cough*_ ALSO I'm not going to be updating for a few days I don't think because I'm going to a convention in Reno, NV for a competition. Wish me luck! _ALSO ALSO, GO CHECK OUT MY WRITING CHALLENGE ON MY STORY "HIS WORLD: THE ONE AND ONLY!_  
** **LOVE Y'ALLS!**

 **~File 13**


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